However, I’ve been trying to broaden my horizons by reading books I might not normally read. To be honest, “Bottled Goods” is not likely a book I would have chosen for myself. Will Alina’s Aunt Theresa be able to help? How can they possibly escape if the government is watching and listening? Plus there are others who may want to jinx their plans. Alina is visited by the secret police weekly, and the visits become even more terrifying.Īlina and her husband struggle for freedom. They are harassed by authorities and ignored by their friends. They are persecuted for Mihai’s defection and immediately put under surveillance.

It seems Alina’s brother-in-law Mihai is not planning on returning to Romania.

They arrive home one afternoon and find two men in grey suits waiting for them. Then came the Saturday when everything changed… While life is far from easy, they are relatively happy.

Alina and her husband, Liviu are both teachers living in Romania. “Bottled Goods is written in short bursts of “flash fiction” and explores universal themes of empowerment, liberty, family, and loyalty.”īottled Goods is set in the 1970’s Romania during Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu’s repressive regime. Weaving elements of magic realism, Romanian folklore, and Kafkaesque paranoia into a gritty and moving depiction of one woman's struggle for personal and political freedom, Bottled Goods is written in short bursts of “flash fiction” and explores universal themes of empowerment, liberty, family, and loyalty. until Alina’s mystical aunt proposes a surprising solution to reduce her problems to a manageable size. With the government watching-and most likely listening- escape seems impossible. As the couple continues to be harassed, their marriage soon deteriorates. But after her brother-in-law defects, Alina and Liviu fall under suspicion and surveillance, and their lives are suddenly turned upside down-just like the glasses in her superstitious Aunt Theresa's house that are used to ward off evil spirits.īut Alina's evil spirits are more corporeal: a suffocating, manipulative mother a student who accuses her and a menacing Secret Services agent who makes one-too-many visits. She and her husband Liviu are teachers in their twenties, living under the repressive regime of Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in the Socialist Republic of Romania in the 1970s. Longlisted for the 2019 Women’s Prize, this poignant, lyrical novel is set in 1970s Romania during Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu ’s regime-and depicts childhood, marriage, family, and identity in the face of extreme obstacles.Īlina yearns for freedom.

Sophie van llewyn